It's time for....

[Patrick Bateman]

Dr Phillip Nitchke to come down to Punt Road and do some of his own administering .. Hell, let's get Dr Jack Kervokian from the 'good ol Usofvay' to do what should be done..

From what i've seen, the Tigers are a terminal case ..

I challenge any of you good folk to show me where the team has played solidly for 2 quarters all season (incl Wizard Cup) .. The first term against Collingwood, perhaps the best but that's about it .. Putting it into context we over-rate the players and the team when they're, at best, a middle of the rung side, deservedly 4 and 5.. Last year was an aberration, no injuries and lashings of luck..

BTW, who do I invoice for my lack of sleep on Sat night .. I must have woken up every half-an-hour in cold sweats, and I kid you not, I thought I dreamt the loss until the cold reality made me sit bolt upright in bed seeing Stephen Milne kicking that goal late in the third term..

That's another point He's a decent player that kid Milne, a jockey, 70 kg wringing wet who finds the footy and can kick a goal .. Where are ours capable of doing so .. Is it a confidence thing or have we recruited duds..?

Also, Chris, can you tell me why you have unshakeable confidence in Pettifer making the grade .. I also have grave doubts about Fiora..

Thanking You

PB

 

[CJH]

The Wizard Cup counts for nought. I will ignore that!

We did play well in the first quarter against Collingwood, then coasted for the next seven thereafter!

I thought we did play well for much of the whole game against Melbourne. We always had their measure and at that point, they were a team that were travelling well. This is possibly the peak of the year to date.

The next four weeks were appalling. The only good thing to come out of it was Adelaides poor kicking. What was a 32 point loss could easily have been 92 - maybe it should have been. Let everybody know how badly we really have been.

The wins against Sydney was pleasing - not because we played that well, but we outplayed an opponent that had more advantages than us. We played that game with being 1 tall player short and was something that Rodney Eade really should have exploited to the full - he very nearly did with the dominance of Doyle in the first half.

We won that game with a team full of short people through nothing but grit and determination.

West Coast was won because they were the poorer side than us. They are a team that will finish in the bottom quarter of the ladder which showed when they played away from their beloved sunshine on a bitterly cold Melbourne afternoon. Thank you for the 4 points but read nothing into the result.

Apparently though, some of the players can read and did think they were better than they are. Hence the complacency against the Saints.

Make no mistake, we do not have the number of A-list players that the likes of Brisbane and Essendon have. They are able to use this class to mercilessly cut teams apart. We don't.

Spud is right when he says we play our best football ugly. This is an admission of the fact that we don't have that same level of class. When the players accept this and learn to play within their limitations, we will be better.

Let's not get too carried away with Milne. He does attack and can be exciting, but turns the ball over far more often than a senior AFL player would like to. He is more a side-show oddity than a class core player. Note that Craig Ednie is also a midget like Milne (and about 3 years younger) but has the same ability to find the ball. I would expect him to be a better long term prospect provided he puts on another 5 - 10 kgs.

As for Pettifer...

I do NOT have unshakeable confidence that he will make the grade BUT am convinced that he has the ability to be an A-list player.

There is a difference. There is more to being a player making the grade than just plain ability. Other aspects come into it. Physical development (which Pettifer needs more of) and attitude are also needed before he can expect to get anywhere.

He goes alright as a forward in the VFL but this is meaningless once you get to the top grade. Nonetheless, we persist with trying to make him one, just like we've done with Justin Murphy and Ezra Poyas.

They are midfielders and this is where they should be played. Pettifer doesn't have anywhere near the body of the likes of Brad Johnson, Mark Riccutio or even Paul Hudson to be able to compete effective up forward. And their is no point having a series of crumbers if there is only the one big forward. Not enough crumbs to go around.

Pick Pettifer and play him as a wing and let him find his feet. Once he fills out a bit, then move him into the middle.

The only things that Fiora lacks is some consistency (he was crap on Saturday) and some brain explosions while kicking. These should be worked out of his game as he develops (he is only in his 3rd year and is still developing).

He has the footspeed and acceleration to break the lines, is a strong mark (though not strong enough in the body to be used as a foward) and usually a reliable kick.

He doesn't have that Rolls-Royce like polish that Pettifer has but is more willing to throw his body around. He also has filled out a bit over the past 2 years and is bigger than you would think.

 

[TheFoxhat]

I thought that truck load of Chook5h1t was on it's way.
It's fair dinkum un*******beliveable